Syria: US warns of potential massacre in Aleppo

The rebels have also brought in reinforcements, with an estimated 1,500 to
2,000 opposition fighters arriving from outside Syria’s most populous city
to reinforce some 2,000 already fighting inside Aleppo.

“The concern are the columns of tanks outside the city, that they seem to be
massing for an attack, the fact that you now have not only helicopter
gunships but fixed-wing aircraft, which is a serious escalation in this
conflict,” Ms Nuland told journalists.

“Our hearts are with the people of Aleppo. And again, this is another
desperate attempt by a regime that is going down to try to maintain control,
and we are greatly concerned about what they are capable of in Aleppo.”

But she stuck to the US position of only providing non-lethal assistance to
the opposition rebels who have been fighting for 16 months to topple Assad.

“We do not believe that pouring more fuel on this fire is going to save lives.
We are working in non-lethal ways. We are working to support the Syrian
opposition,” the spokeswoman told journalists.

And Ms Nuland insisted that unlike in the recent conflict in Libya, where
rebels battling long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi were aided by a Nato no-fly
zone, “the vast majority of Syrians continue not to want foreign military
intervention, more weapons flowing into their country.”

She said the United States was seeking to boost the opposition by providing
support such as communications equipment, but stressed the US was not about
to start arming the rebels.

Further militarizing the conflict “could potentially lead to a much greater
loss of life,” Ms Nuland said.

“We are listening to the voices of the Syrian opposition. We are also
listening for other voices inside Syria. The kind of groundswell call for
external support that we’ve seen elsewhere is not there here.”

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